Leadership and public relations in two emerging markets

Please cite this article in press as: Petersone, B., & Erzikova, E. Leadership and public relations in two emerging

markets: A comparative study of communication management in Latvia and Russia. Public Relations Review (2015),

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.09.007

ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model

PUBREL-1440; No. of Pages9

Public Relations Review xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Public Relations Review

Leadership and public relations in two emerging markets: A

comparative study of communication management in Latvia

and Russia

Baiba Petersonea, Elina Erzikova b,∗

a Riga Stradins University, 16 Dzirciema Street, Riga, LV 1007, Latvia b Central Michigan University, Moore Hall 425, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 20 January 2015

Received in revised form 25 August 2015

Accepted 14 September 2015

Keywords:

Public relations

Leadership

Emerging markets

Sociopolitical context

Latvia

Russia

a b s t r a c t

This study investigates perceptions of public relations leadership in two emerging

markets—Latvia and Russia—via an online survey of a diverse pool of public relations practi￾tioners. This effortis guided by Meng and Berger’s (2013) model of excellent public relations

leadership. Additionally, this study moves a step further by seeking to understand how

national sociopolitical contexts shape leadership in public relations. Results show a number

of similarities and differences in Latvian and Russian participants’ interpretations of profes￾sional leadership. Gaining access to the dominant coalition, or decision-making authority

in the organization is perceived as an important ability in both countries. Challenges of

talent management are more acute in Russia than Latvia.

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Over the years public relations research has focused heavily on the study of public relations management. Public relations

has traditionally been defined as a management function (Grunig, 2006) that can fully realize its potential if it is directed

by communication managers rather than technicians. Meanwhile, other social science disciplines have moved forward by

addressing the importance of leadership and leaders.While the scope of managerial activity is limited to planning, organizing

and controlling processes, leadership implies envisioning an alternative future for an organization, encouraging followers

to accomplish their potential and empowering employees (Bass & Bass, 2008).

Only recently has the public relations discipline begun addressing the issue of leadership, and how leadership in public

relations can strengthen our profession and contribute to organizational effectiveness. Much of this new research trend in

public relations has inquired about leadership and leaders in the United States. There has been little acknowledgement of

other contexts such as Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe (World PR Report, 2013) that currently lead the growth of

the public relations industry.

The purpose of this paper is to start bridging this gap in the knowledge of public relations by investigating leadership in

Latvia and Russia. These two emerging markets have experienced the rise of public relations over the past two decades and

they provide non-traditional sociopolitical contexts for the study of leadership in public relations.

∗ Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (B. Petersone), [email protected] (E. Erzikova).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.09.007

0363-8111/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.